A US F-35 stealth aircraft made an emergency landing at a US air base in the Middle East after it was hit by possible Iranian fire.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command, said the fifth-generation stealth jet was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make an emergency landing. Hawkins said the aircraft landed safely and the incident is under investigation.
“The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins added. “This incident is under investigation.”
The US launched “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran on February 28.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the US and Israel have used the F-35s for precision strikes as well as for suppressing enemy air defences (SEAD).
An Israeli F-35I Adir also achieved a first air-to-air kill by downing a Yak-130 trainer aircraft.
The stealthy F-35s enabled rapid ingress into Iranian airspace to suppress radar, air defences, and command nodes, in coordination with cyber or space disruptions that “blinding” Iranian defence systems before strikes by other warplanes, such as strategic bombers.
Additionally, the F-35s also help provide real-time ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance), sensor fusion for targeting, and delivery of guided munitions.
Issues with F-35s
According to a report from the Pentagon Testing Office that was accessed by Bloomberg, the latest F-35 upgrade, known as TR-3, which is meant to be integrated on jets like those participating in the Iran war, was “predominantly unusable” for most of last year due to stability problems, capability shortfalls, and ongoing discoveries of deficiencies.
This finding is concerning because the aircraft has been undergoing upgrades to the Technology Refresh-3 (TR3) configuration as part of a larger Block 4 modernisation plan.
The TR-3 avionics upgrade comprises updated integrated core processors, an aircraft memory system, and panoramic cockpit displays. In fact, some experts describe the TR3 as a brand-new laptop with a new display, improved graphics, and a new processor that speeds up operation and provides terabytes of memory and storage.
According to the Bloomberg report, the F-35 jets flying off the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier are equipped with the older TR-2 software.
Notably, Lockheed Martin began producing F-35s in the TR-3 version in the summer of 2023, but the government would not accept deliveries until TR-3 developmental testing was complete. Later, in July 2024, Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, Director of the Joint Program Office (JPO), authorised the resumption of deliveries, subject to assurances that the software was sufficiently stable in tests for safe flight operations and drills.
Nonetheless, despite the resumption of deliveries, the TR-3 is still undergoing developmental testing, and reports last year suggested that the aircraft delivered to the operators featured a “truncated” TR-3 configuration rather than a combat-capable TR-3.
According to the Pentagon report, the software improvements “continue to face challenges in delivering reliable, fully functional software” for rigorous combat testing prior to installation.
“The F-35 program continues to show no improvement in meeting schedule and performance timelines for developing and testing software, failing to deliver on the expectations of its agile development framework”, as “the process of addressing deficiencies and adding new capabilities has stagnated,” it emphasises.
It is pertinent to note that the TR3 upgrade is a crucial component in enabling new Block 4 mission-system capabilities to counter both air- and ground-based threats from adversaries. Although most of the Block 4 upgrades remain confidential, there is speculation that it includes a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar designated as AN/APG-85, a major upgrade to the jet’s Distributed Aperture System (DAS) and Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS), and the integration of new weapons.
Compared to the F-35’s current capabilities, the TR-3 upgrade is intended to enhance processing power by 37x and memory by 20x.
The delays in fielding TR-3 and, by extension, the Block 4 upgrades have persisted for years. This was also highlighted last year by the FY2024 Annual Report for the Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E). The report stated that the program showed no improvement in meeting schedule and performance timelines for developing and testing software designed to address deficiencies and add new capabilities.”
“DOT&E assesses that dedicated operational testing of these aircraft will not occur until mid to late FY26, approximately two years after the configuration began delivery to the field,” it stated. Additionally, it noted that “challenges added with the TR-3 avionics upgrades, both in development and testing, have caused additional delays to the planned schedules for delivering capabilities in Block 4 for the aircraft in the TR-2 configuration.”
Initially, all 66 capabilities under Block 4 were scheduled to be fully deployed by 2026. This timeline was later pushed to 2029. However, a Government Accountability Office report in September 2025 warned that Lockheed would not be able to deliver the Block 4 upgrade, even with only a “subset of the original 66 … capabilities,” by 2031.
This does not bode well for the US Air Force (USAF) and its allies operating the jet, particularly as adversaries such as China continually upgrade their offensive capabilities. Moreover, there is a near-persistent threat from countries like Iran, as seen in real time.
Moreover, the delays have also raised concerns about additional costs on top of what is already the world’s most expensive fighter jet program, valued at around $2 trillion.
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